by Naomi Kramer
“I’m so sorry,” it said. “Mr Jersey is not available to anyone, regardless of clearance level. May I take a message?”
“No, thank you,” said Angie. “Terminate call.”
Well, damn. Who could she call when the lab was compromised and her boss was either dead or severely incapacitated? Those were the only reasons she could think of for him not either answering his phone or rerouting it to someone else. No one ignored an emergency override. There was her fellow agent Jorge - probably the only agent she knew well… but she didn't have his phone code programmed. Or, for that matter, his last name. She could go back to the office and wait for someone to turn up – hopefully someone friendly. She could call the cops – but they’d need access to the office, which meant someone with a high level of clearance. Or she could… let herself be framed for murder and worse. Damn. If she didn’t call it in to someone, her arse would be on fire soon enough.
“Phone! Scramble visual, disguise audio. Route through IP-blocker. Police, emergency.” A large, kind-looking face appeared above the desk. An AI construct, Angie figured. There was always something unnaturally still about the face that gave it away.
“Good evening – what is your emergency?”
“Dead man in my workplace,” she said.
The face disappeared, and was replaced with another. This one was actually alive, Angie figured.
“Did you say there’s been a death?” he asked.
“Yes. I’ve medscanned him. A co-worker of mine. Government department – we’ll need someone with N-level clearance to investigate.”
“I understand. Are you at the address?”
“I’m not. I needed to report to someone else first. Here’s the address:” she rattled it off. “My name’s Agent Red. I’ll call again when I can, in case your man has questions for me.”
“Wait, we need to know-”
“I’m sorry, that’s all I’m authorised to share at the moment,” she said. “Terminate.”
Right, she’d called it in, and appended her code name to the report, at least. She couldn’t think of anyone else to call, and mail was probably insecure if someone could get access to lab logins.
Random jumped to her lap and settled down, purring.
“Well, buddy, looks like we’re on our own here. Everyone’s gone quiet.”
Random purred and kneaded her leg.
“Yeah, I get it. Relax while we can, right? I have a funny feeling we’ll be ducking and running again soon enough.”
She put her feet up, leaned back, and fell asleep.
She woke to a paw patting her face.
“What’s up, puss?” she whispered.
Random’s ears were back, and her tail was switching madly.
A scratching noise was coming from the doorbot.
Angie stood quietly, snatched the watch from her backpack, and put the watch and backpack on. Random jumped onto the backpack. Angie took a deep breath, and pressed the button combination that activated the watch.
As the present-day faded from her surroundings, she saw two men in black clothing and balaclavas burst into the room.
****
A library faded in around Angie and Random. It looked shabbier, less cared-for, than it had the last time they’d been there.
“Well, that was close,” Angie said to Random. “Hmm… I think they had a skin taboo back in this period. Maybe I should be wearing clothes.”
She checked her backpack – nothing. Well, she could use the hide circuit on her watch, and hopefully blend into the background until her prey arrived.
“You came back. You actually came back.”
Angie spun around. There he was, standing next to a shelf of books, staring at her and shaking his head.
“Of course I did,” she said, smiling. “I’m a woman of my word. And I don’t kiss a man lightly.”
“So you’re some sort of… time traveller?”
Angie blinked.
“I didn’t expect you to figure that out. I thought you’d decide you’d imagined me last time.”
“I wasn’t sure… but then you appeared out of thin air again, and I didn’t hallucinate anything in the intervening time period.”
She nodded. Logical. As she’d expect from a man like him.
“What do you want with me?”
“To take you back to the future with me.”
He laughed. Angie frowned, puzzled. Why would that, of all things, be the statement that was ridiculous?
“It’s a movie. About a time-travelling teen. Before your time, I’m sure,” he said.
She smiled.
“Will you come? I’m authorised to seduce you if necessary.”
“Well,” he said, frowning. “I was about to say yes, but if you need to seduce me to get me to agree…”
She laughed and held out her hand.
“Come on, brave traveller.”
“Wait – why?”
“Can’t explain. But it’s vital to my organisation that you come. At least… never mind. It’s vital. We need you.”
He blinked.
“Sure, what the hell. I guess Heidi Klum will just have to wait on our dinner date.”
Angie paused.
“We don’t have to go right now,” she said.
He laughed.
“I’m kidding. Let’s go.”
Angie took his hand, then thought.
“There might be trouble when we get back. Umm… get ready to duck, OK?”
“What? What sort of –”
She pressed a key combination on her watch, and the library faded from view.
They materialised in Geek’s lab.
“Oh, thank everything happy,” breathed Angie, both because they weren’t in her flat, where anyone knowing the standard settings on a time-travel watch would be waiting right now, and because Geek’s corpse had been removed.
So, Geek had reprogrammed the defaults to bring her to his office. As a trap of some sort? For himself to use, in case he had to escape from her? Or maybe he hadn’t suspected her at all. Too many possibilities, too few known facts.
“Where are we?” asked Wayne in a quiet undertone.
“My workplace. Sort of. It’s complicated. You’re in the year 2105, by the way.”
“Oh wow.”
“Angie?” said a voice from the door of the office.
Angie turned.
“Jorge! Oh, thank everything it’s you. What the hell is going on?” she said.
Jorge frowned.
“What do you mean, ‘going on’?”
“The break-in? The boss being unreachable?”
Jorge shook his head slowly.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Geek walked up behind him, and stopped in the doorway.
“Uh… hi Angie. What are you doing in my office?”
Angie’s mouth hung open.
“Holy shit,” she said, once she could find words. “What year is this?”
END OF EPISODE ONE
Episode Two coming soon… all two of them. A time-stream split occurs, and future episodes are split accordingly into ‘Timeline A’ and ‘Timeline B’.
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